This invention relates to insecticidal compositions comprising diiodomethylsulfone derivatives and to the use of such derivatives for the control of termites, cockroaches, and ants.
Subterranean termites are of considerable economic importance throughout the United States, and costs for damage and control may exceed an estimated $750 million annually. Much of this cost is attributable to the Reticulitermes genus, which encompasses the most widespread termites and which includes the species Reticulitermes virginicus and Reticulitermes flavipes. Several other subterranean termite species are also extremely destructive, but their impact is limited by their distribution. For example, Heterotermes aureus is a major pest in the desert Southwest.
The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, is distributed throughout many of the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Hawaii, Guam, Midway Island, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and parts of the continental United States. Within the past three decades, it has been reported in Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In 1984 costs for control of this insect were $120 million in China, $400 million in Japan, %60 million in Hawaii and $5-6 million in the aforementioned Southeastern states. The Formosan termite is extremely difficult to control, once established, and is often considered the most destructive structural pest. It will feed on any cellulosic material. It not only causes serious damage to structures and other wooden materials such as utility poles, but also is known to attack living vegetation. This pest also attacks and penetrates non-cellulosic items such as electric and telephone cables, plaster, and plastics confronted in its foraging path.
Carpenter ants in natural environments are decomposers, commonly found in trees and logs. Several species, however, have extended their habitat to wooden structures used by man. In 1985 it was reported that 78% of the structural infestations investigated in the state of Washington were caused by Camponotus modoc. In the Northeast, two species attack wooden structures: the black carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, and the New York or red carpenter ant, Camponotus novaeboracensis. Carpenter ants are costly pests. In 1982 it was estimated that residents of New Jersey are spending at least $25 million per year on carpenter ant control around the home. Carpenter ants are also a major source of damage to wooden utility poles.
The cockroach is probably the most obnoxious insect known to man. There is a considerable body of evidence to incriminate a number of species of cockroaches as potential carriers of disease. Cockroaches are regarded as loathsome intruders for many reasons: their speed and unpredictable direction of movement, the enormous numbers to which populations can increase if left undisturbed, and their habit of tainting with a characteristic odor, and fouling with excrement, all food and surfaces with which they come into contact. Finally, because cockroaches are usually associated with poor standards of hygiene, their presence is psychologically disturbing and may cause considerable mental distress. The most prevalent cockroach in the United States is the European cockroach, Blatella germanica.
The insecticidal compositions of the present invention have been shown to be effective in controlling the Formosan termite, domestic or Reticulitermes termites, carpenter ants, other varieties of ants including imported fire ants (Solenopsis saevissima), and cockroaches. Other insects for which these compositions are believed to be efficacious include the pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis); the powder post beetle (Lyctus brunneus) and the wood-destroying beetles (Hylotrupes bajulus and Anobium punctatum); and the fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae), which are agricultural pests in Africa and India.